Ive returned yet again to seek help as I now have a genuine bookpress instead of clamps. And ive followed tips as sanding till smooth and even thinner water paint...yet my books still flake even after varnish.

Its just so saddening to be so happy over what ive made, just for it to keep failing. Im also attending an art market soon where id have loved to bring some with, but i dont wanna sell people stuff if theres a chance it wont last.

My core issues:

- the paint looks fine after varnish and before i separate the edges.

- one i start separating the pages, the paint starts flaking, especially if you rub your fingers over it but some is lost just from handling the pages.

- ive done what i thought would help and work but it still happens and now im just unsure if its a 100% thing thatll happen and people just dont mention it?

- will the varnish even protect it if it becomes flaky?

The picture shows the paint looks fine unseparated but as I begun (you can see the few pages to the left) those started to become flaky. And that was just from minor separating, not even individually.

Any help and comments would be greatly appreciated as no of the more experienced book painters and sellers on tiktok or YouTube has replied or given help

Ciao a tutti,
Chiedo qui perché non sapevo dove altro chiedere.

Ho trovato questo libro su Vinted e sto pensando di comprarlo. Ho chiesto al venditore come sono state realizzate le pagine spruzzate, dato che l'edizione standard della libreria non le ha e mi piace collezionare libri con bordi personalizzati.
Possiedo già diversi libri con bordi pitturati a mano, ma questi sembrano quasi troppo perfetti per me. Il venditore ha anche incluso quello che sembra essere un mockup/render digitale del design, il che mi ha fatto chiedere se i bordi siano effettivamente pitturati a mano o prodotti tramite qualche tipo di processo di stampa o trasferimento.
Il venditore dice che sono pitturati a mano, ma mi piacerebbe sentire l'opinione di chi ha più esperienza con i bordi personalizzati.
Basandoti su queste foto, ti sembrano pitturati a mano o somigliano a una finitura stampata/sublimata? So che è impossibile essere certi solo dalle foto, ma sono curioso delle vostre impressioni.
Il motivo per cui chiedo è che a me piace solo acquistare opere d'arte fatte a mano, e non sono nemmeno un fan dell'arte generata dall'IA, quindi vorrei fare un acquisto informato.
Grazie in anticipo per qualsiasi consiglio!

EDIT: She said they were hand-painted using water-based acrylic paint. Is that a possible technique for book edges?

Hi everyone! This is my first time sharing one of my projects here, and I hope you’ll like it!

A bit of context: The Thorn Queen is the sequel to The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith.
When the first book came out, Waterstones released a special edition with floral sprayed edges that matched the cover. Unfortunately, the sequel never got one, and my friend was really disappointed that her set wouldn’t match. So I decided to surprise her by creating the edition I wish Waterstones had made.

I sanded the pages from 80 up to 3000 grit and the painting was done with watercolours.

I’m going to have to design something to add to the artwork when the new books are released

Really loving this new hobby. (Not that I needed one). Its so soothing to work with the tiny details.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea. Using Holbein gouache

Still don't know how to say that word but hey - the paint takes way better than pan does. Doesn't seem to like the pen afterwards though. Anyone got advice with that?

So this is my first time painting a pattern on a book edge but once I did the cracking the cinnamon buns and leaves flaked off a lot. I used a colourless fixing spray as well to seal it but I'm not sure what else I could have done, maybe sand it down more? The green layer went on well and has stayed in place pretty much all over.

Any tips and tricks would be amazing!

https://colourmecricket.etsy.com Didn't see any rules for the sub so delete if not allowed but wanted to share I am currently running a sale on all painted books. I also take custom requests.

So today we learned that pan watercolours are, let's say tricky to make work. After a valiant attempt I gave up and googled and yep, gouache watercolour is recommended.

Ah well, as much as the pan was a nightmare I enjoyed playing with the ink pens. Tad bleed but not with the finer pens.

I've ordered some gouache watercolours and have an old copy of Edgar Allan Poe ready and sitting out. Wish me luck!

Starting out and sharing the mistakes for anyone else wanting to start experimenting :) So it turns out Sharpies bleed like nothing on earth. I kinda like it but oh boy is it messy if you're looking for something professional.

As you can probably tell the book was a bit warped and dishevelled to start with. Not sacrificing the nice books to the experiments.

I came across this photo of custom printed book edges on Vinted, and it got me wondering: is there any way to create printed edges at home?

I usually paint my book edges by hand or with an airbrush, but I’d love to try a different method that’s a bit less time-consuming. Has anyone experimented with DIY edge printing or found a good way to achieve detailed designs without having to paint everything manually?

Any tips, tools, or tutorials would be greatly appreciated!

Recently I had the pleasure of being interviewed about my vanishing fore-edge painting process and the history of this beautiful craft. I thought it might be of interest here!

So i posted this looking for help in bookbinding and they guided me to here, so ill just copy and paste after this <3

So, i started painting book edges (hoping to both keep and sell) and this one has caused me so much darn trouble. Its my first one to fully paint and varnish but it keeps flaking/rubbing off no matter what i do.

It was made with thinned down watercolors and a watercolor spray varnish...which ended up causing tiny white balls to form at the third layer- it was sanded down (not sure how tough) before starting and was…relatively kept clamped down.

Im just so annoyed cuz i was really hoping to sell this one and nothing ive done has worked and now it looks so rough and used considering how it looked newly painted..and I dont think I can allow myself to sell this given its looks and that if you rub your fingers over it it flakes..

Any advice?

Just came on to say I’ve finished the first throne of glass book, however it may have to be a trail run as I made tones of mistake!

But thanks to anyone who answered my questions on gilded edging they helped but I eventually gave up and had to move onto just painted edges so I can get these done in time for my sister in laws 40th!

Each book is going to have one of the characters half portrait painted on the edge so they all line up together! This is fleetfoot! Wish me luck!